Oil prices ease on fears of more interest rate hikes denting fuel demand

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Thursday, paring some of the previous day’s gains, as investors took profits on concerns that further interest rate hikes by central banks could dampen economic growth and global fuel demand.

Brent crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.76 a barrel by 0052 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.35 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed about 3% on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories dropped by 9.6 million barrels in the week ended June 23, far exceeding the 1.8-million barrel draw analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.